Weather

METAR Decoder

Decode a raw METAR into plain language and read off the flight category.

Inputs

Raw METARPaste the full report

Result

Flight category

MVFR

Ceiling 1200 ft, vis 3.7 sm

Station

EGLL

Observation time

28 @ 18:20Z

Wind

From 240° at 12 gusting 22 kt

Visibility

6000 m

Weather

Light rain

Cloud

Broken (5–7 oktas) at 1200 ft

Temp / dewpoint

15°C / 9°C

Altimeter

1008 hPa

Formula

Ref

Wind: dddffKT (dir/speed, G = gust)
Cloud: BKN/OVC height ×100 ft = ceiling
Category from ceiling + visibility (most restrictive wins)

Worked example

Ref

Decode: EGLL 281820Z 24012G22KT 6000 -RA BKN012 15/09 Q1008.

1.Wind: from 240° at 12 kt, gusting 22 kt.
2.Visibility 6000 m; light rain (−RA).
3.Broken cloud at 1,200 ft → ceiling 1,200 ft.
4.Ceiling 1,200 ft with 6 km vis → MVFR.

MVFR: wind 240/12G22, 6 km in light rain, broken 1,200 ft, 15/09, QNH 1008.

How it works

Ref

A METAR is a coded snapshot of current airport weather. Decoding it into wind, visibility, weather, cloud, temperature/dewpoint and pressure — then reading off the flight category — is a daily pre-flight skill and a recurring exam item. This tool decodes the common fields; remarks and trends are outside its scope.

DGCA student tip

Exam

Wind direction in a METAR is TRUE, but ATIS/tower wind is MAGNETIC — a classic trap. Learn the cloud amounts in oktas (FEW 1–2, SCT 3–4, BKN 5–7, OVC 8) and that the ceiling is the lowest BKN/OVC layer.

Common mistakes

Watch

Reading METAR wind as magnetic — it is true.
Taking any cloud layer as the ceiling; only BKN/OVC count.
Confusing Q (hPa) with A (inHg) altimeter groups.

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